From beloved author Cynthia Rylant and illustrator Mike Austin comes a colorful and quirky picture book about five fish who find unexpected friendship when some new additions to their tank shake things up!
Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny and Mike are five fish friends who love everything about life in the fish tank—except for clean-the-tank day and the snail that lives with them, who they mostly ignore. But one day, when they get an enchanting new fairy-tale castle, disaster strikes! And it turns out there’s only one slippery, slimy non-fish fellow who can help…
From beloved author and Newbery Medalist Rylant and illustrator Austin comes a colorful and quirky picture book about five fish who find unexpected friendship when some new additions to their tank shake things up! Full color. 11 x 8 1/2.
Rylant has always had a fondness for animals (and the Beatles!), and here she has created a sweet story about the five “fab” fish that live in a girl’s large sparkling aquarium. For the fish, every day is “heaven.” They love the diver, the bubbles, and the pirate ship that decorate their tank. Bad days only occur when the little girl cleans the tank; however, after one cleaning day, they get three special surprises—two new fish (a clownfish and an angelfish) and a fairy castle. However, one of the fish immediately gets trapped in the castle, and it is up to an overlooked snail that also lives in the tank to save the day. Children will enjoy the rhyming names of the fish, the repetition (plop, plop), the multitude of exclamation marks, and the use of oversize words at critical points in the story. Austin’s bright and colorful cartoons complement the bouncy text well. The original fish have expressive eyes, front fins that almost look like hands, and bright pink lips. The face of the snail, when he realizes that he can be the hero, is a wonderful blend of charming, goofy, and gross. Finally, Austin sets off scenes that take place in the tank with swirls of blue paint and bubblelike circles on the edges while using a plain white background for scenes outside of the tank. VERDICT A cheerful, engaging story, perfect for reading aloud to younger children.
